Computer-based system for providing psychological therapy

Abstract

Apparatus for use in a computer-based system for providing psychological therapy, the apparatus comprising: an access system configured to control access to features and data by users of remote devices, wherein the users comprise patients, therapists and supervisors; and a therapy system configured to enable text-based instant messages to be sent between patients and therapists; wherein the access system is configured to allow patients to retrieve messages sent and received by the patient, therapists to retrieve messages sent and received by the therapist, and supervisors to retrieve messages sent and received by particular patients and/or therapists.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of treating depression and/or anxiety disorders, the method comprising:
 assigning a patient to a step of a stepped care model based on a depression severity determined by a PHQ-9 score and/or an anxiety severity determined by a GAD-7 score; 
 administering a set of between about 5 and 10 psychological therapy sessions and/or a set of psychological therapy sessions with a total duration of between 1.5 and 7.5 hours based on the depression severity and/or the anxiety severity,
 wherein the said administering comprises: a therapist exchanging text-based instant messages with a remotely situated patient via a computer-based system during psychological therapy sessions, wherein the patient has a psychological condition and is remotely situated from the therapist; and 
 wherein the psychological therapy sessions and/or the set of psychological therapy sessions comprises:
 for patients having mild depression and/or anxiety, a set of about 5 sessions and/or a set of sessions having a total duration of between 1.5 and 2.5 hours to achieve a recovery rate of at least about 76% and/or an improvement rate of at least about 54%; 
 for patients having moderate depression and/or anxiety, a set of about 7 sessions and/or a set of sessions having a total duration of between 4 and 6.5 hours to achieve a recovery rate of at least about 33% and/or an improvement rate of at least about 60%; or 
 for patients having severe depression and/or anxiety, a set of about 10 sessions and/or a set of sessions having a total duration of between 6.5 and 7.5 hours to achieve a recovery rate of at least about 40% and/or an improvement rate of at least about 60%; 
 
 
 creating a transcript, via the computer-based system, of the text-based instant messages; 
 saving the transcript in a database of the computer-based system; 
 providing the transcript to the patient and/or the therapist through the computer-based system. 
 
     
     
       2. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 patients having mild depression and/or anxiety correspond to patients at step 2 of the stepped care model; 
 patients having moderate depression and/or anxiety correspond to patients at step 3 of the stepped care model; and/or 
 patients having severe depression and/or anxiety correspond to patients at step 3+ of the stepped care model. 
 
     
     
       3. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 recovery corresponds to a patient having a PHQ-9 score of less than 10 and/or a GAD-7 score of less than 8; and/or 
 improvement corresponds to a patient having a PHQ-9 score that has decreased by at least 6 and/or a GAD-7 score that has decreased by at least 4 since before the set of sessions. 
 
     
     
       4. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the psychological therapy sessions and/or the set of psychological therapy sessions have a session duration of between about 0.5 and 1 hour. 
     
     
       5. The method according to  claim 1 , comprising:
 allowing a patient, a therapist of the patient and/or a supervisor using the computer-based system to review messages previously sent between the patient and the therapist, and tasks previously completed by the patient. 
 
     
     
       6. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the system corresponds to a computer-based system for providing the psychological therapy, comprising:
 a server comprising an apparatus for use in the computer-based system for providing the psychological therapy, the apparatus comprising: an access system configured to control access by users of remote devices to features and data, wherein the features of the apparatus comprise a therapy system, wherein the users comprise patients, therapists and supervisors; and a therapy system configured to enable text-based instant messages to be sent between the patients and the therapists; wherein the access system is configured to allow the patients to the messages sent and received by the patient, the therapists to retrieve messages sent and received by the therapist, and the supervisors to retrieve messages sent and received by particular patients and/or therapists; 
 at least one network; and 
 a plurality of devices configured to communicate with the server via the at least one network. 
 
     
     
       7. The method according to  claim 1 , comprising:
 text mining, via the computer-based system, the text-based instant messages; 
 determining at least one feature of the text-based instant messages based on the text mining; and 
 determining a characteristic of the patient based on (a) the at least one feature and (b) a severity measure of the psychological condition, wherein the characteristic relates to a predicted outcome of therapy, a risky behavior by the patient, and/or a predicted drop-out by the patient. 
 
     
     
       8. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein communication in the psychological therapy sessions consists of the text-based instant messages. 
     
     
       9. The method according to  claim 7  further comprising:
 alerting the therapist and/or the supervisor based on the characteristic of the patient. 
 
     
     
       10. A method of treating depression and/or anxiety disorders, the method comprising:
 assigning a patient to a step of a stepped care model based on a depression severity determined by a PHQ-9 score and/or an anxiety severity determined by a GAD-7 score; 
 administering a set of between about 5 and 10 psychological therapy sessions and/or a set of psychological therapy sessions with a total duration of between 1.5 and 7.5 hours based on the depression severity and/or the anxiety severity,
 wherein the said administering comprises: a therapist exchanging text-based instant messages with a remotely situated patient via a computer-based system during psychological therapy sessions, wherein the patient has a psychological condition and is remotely situated from the therapist; and 
 wherein the psychological therapy sessions and/or the set of psychological therapy sessions comprises:
 for patients having mild depression and/or anxiety, a set of about 5 sessions and/or a set of sessions having a total duration of between 1.5 and 2.5 hours to achieve a recovery rate of at least about 76% and/or an improvement rate of at least about 54%; 
 for patients having moderate depression and/or anxiety, a set of about 7 sessions and/or a set of sessions having a total duration of between 4 and 6.5 hours to achieve a recovery rate of at least about 33% and/or an improvement rate of at least about 60%; or 
 for patients having severe depression and/or anxiety, a set of about 10 sessions and/or a set of sessions having a total duration of between 6.5 and 7.5 hours to achieve a recovery rate of at least about 40% and/or an improvement rate of at least about 60%. 
 
 
 
     
     
       11. The method according to  claim 10 , wherein communication in the psychological therapy sessions consists of the text-based instant messages. 
     
     
       12. The method according to  claim 10 , comprising:
 text mining, via the computer-based system, the text-based instant messages; 
 determining at least one feature of the text-based instant messages based on the text mining; and 
 determining a characteristic of the patient based on (a) the at least one feature and (b) a severity measure of the psychological condition, wherein the characteristic relates to a predicted outcome of therapy, a risky behavior by the patient, and/or a predicted drop-out by the patient. 
 
     
     
       13. The method according to  claim 12  further comprising:
 alerting the therapist and/or the supervisor based on the characteristic of the patient.